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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28889649">Pinky Promise?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotAStalker13/pseuds/NotAStalker13'>NotAStalker13</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Hospitals, I'm Sorry, M/M, Post-Time Skip, Post-time Skip Haikyuu, Streamer Kenma, this made me cry while writing it, volleyball injury</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 08:55:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,925</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28889649</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotAStalker13/pseuds/NotAStalker13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Hinata took a fall during a practice with the Jackals and has to go through surgery, how will Kenma handle all of what's happening? I mean, they did pinky promise, so they should be fine right?</p>
<p>Inspired by artwork by Pringalingles on Insta</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hinata Shouyou/Kozume Kenma</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Pinky Promise?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I'm sorry if this isn't the best, it took me a good few months to write because the idea hurt my heart and I have really worked myself up to writing long nor angst to this was me trying both. This fic isn't as long as I was hoping, but as of right now, it's the longest one-shot I've ever written. Again sorry for the pain and suffering.</p>
<p>This is an unbeta story, so there may be mistakes, I apologize and it would like to <em>kindly</em> point them out, then that you for the help!</p>
<p>ALSO!! Please note this is post-time skip, so there will be spoilers for the skip!!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Shoyo Hinata was finally back in Japan after being in Brazil for the past 2 years, and he was getting the perfect chance to practice with the MSBY Black Jackal team. It was so nice being able to play volleyball with his mentor Bokuto once again, but a major opportunity to play with Atsumu and Sakusa as actual teammates rather than opponents. Another great thing about being back home was that he could be with his boyfriend again. He and Kenma would video call multiple times a week while Hinata was away, but he could finally hug and cuddle with the small boy instead of looking at his small pixelated face in the corner of the screen whenever he was streaming. Hinata was actually planning on heading over to the old Nekoma’s setters house after his practice today. Even though the Black Jackals were riding the winds of their win against the Schweiden Adlers, the boys threw themselves heavily into practice as they wanted to keep the win streak especially when they had to play the Adlers again. Hinata held so much excitement over defeating his old setter, friend, and long-time rival Tobio Kageyama. This excitement gave the smaller, red-haired boy way too much energy, which didn’t help the fact that he normally already had an exuberant amount of energy. It made it harder for Kenma some days simply because he was naturally a low energized creature, and on certain days he would have one too many meetings at the Bouncing Ball Corporation draining his little energy reserves. Thankfully after having been dating for the past four years, Kenma knew just how to calm his bouncing boyfriend down on the days he just wanted to lounge around. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>	Three years after his return things are still going great for Hinata and Kenma, to the point that Kenma has a pair of rings hidden away and waiting for him to build up the courage and find the perfect time to ask for Hinata’s hand in marriage. Hinata got accepted to play and represent Japan in the 2020 Olympics, once again playing with his old teammate Kageyama, many of his current teammates from the Black Jackals, and old rivals turned friends. Kenma was still a gaming streamer, owner of Bouncing Ball Co. and was still working on promotional content with his old friend, teammate, and captain Tetsuro Kuroo. Most of the old Nekoma team gathered together to eat, catching up, and watching the Olympics together since Yaku, they're old libero, also made the team. While Kenma doesn't really know Oikawa, he's heard the stories from high school and when he and Hinata met up in Brazil. Apparently, Oikawa was playing for Argentina, and his fiance, Iwaizumi was Japan's athlete trainer, so it definitely made for an interesting match. Unfortunately Japan lost, but Hinata didn't let it get him as down and depressed as he would have been in high school. Rather he was motivated to work harder and make the team again. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>	Injuries were not an unknown force for Hinata. He'd seen Oikawa play with a bad knee, and vividly remembers the collision between Tanaka and their captain Daichi that took the captain out for the rest of the game during his first year. Hinata himself had also suffered from a plethora of injuries ranging from taking serves to the face to using his chest and foot as an unconventional blocking method. Hell, during his first ever official match back in junior high, after hitting a ball over Kageyama’s head, he couldn’t figure out how to properly land and hit the ground and then rolled a little bit. While injuries for Hinata weren't as common after his two years in Brazil playing beach volleyball, they still happened. </p>
<p>	Hinata and Bokuto were in the middle of spiking practice turned friendly competition when it happened. Atsumu knew from Hinata’s run-up that this wasn't going to be the cleanest of spikes. The setter was correct as the ball soared about half a hand higher than gingers normally high apex. Even though the small wing spiker was able to land a hit on the ball, when he came back down from his jump, he slipped and landed flat on his back. The gym had fallen silent at the sound of the extremely loud <em>thump</em> of Hinata’s body smacking the floor, knocking the air out of the small man’s lungs. The sound of him gasping for air after it had been knocked from his lungs had the other members rushing forward to check on Hinata. Hands were fluttering gently all over his body as Atsumu, Bokuto and Sakusa argued on if they should move him or keep him still. Hinata let out a low groan of pain but began to sit up on his own, the others not wanting to cause him any additional or unintentional pain let him do as he pleased. That’s when their coach Samson Foster, a man with short light-colored hair and thick eyebrows, made it to where the group was crouched over the small ginger and forced everyone to step back so he could check on Hinata the best he could. After asking him the generic concussion questions of what’s his name, where is he, and what volleyball team he plays for, Foster decides that he passed the concussion test and probably didn’t even hit his head. Even though he fought the decision of wanting to keep practicing, Foster made Hinata go home and get some rest and to make sure nothing was actually wrong. Surprisingly enough it was Sakusa who offered to drive the ginger home so that he wouldn’t have to wait for the subway to get home. Not once during the whole ride did Sakusa complain about Hinata resting against the door of the car nor mention the sweaty germs that he would be leaving, showing that he really was concerned about the health and wellbeing of his teammate. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>	Kenma was in the middle of a stream when Hinata arrived home. After grabbing two bottles of water from the fridge, Hinata made his way to Kenma’s gaming room, unworried about interrupting as many of the stream fans were used to his interruptions. He wouldn't just walk into the room in case they were in the middle of an emotional cutscene. Gently he knocked on the door to the small cozy room lined with thick padding to help muffle the sounds and echoes. The muffled voice of his boyfriend was loud enough that Hinata knew the affirmative response was for him and not the audience watching the stream. Opening the door, Hinata noted that Kenma was curled up in his plush chair and his headphones with cat ears on the top were currently being pulled down and around his neck as Kenma announced to the chat that Hinata had entered the room. Hinata leaned down to place a kiss on top of the two-toned haired boy's head. It was at this moment Kenma double-take of the time and realized that Hinata came home an hour and a half early, something very not Hinata like. Kenma made a questioning face, but Hinata gave a small minute shake of his head that the stream wouldn't notice. Hinata grabbed the black and gold chair with the name ninja shoyo and his MSBY number 21 printed in white largely on the back from a corner of the room. Passing his boyfriend a bottle of water, he gingerly sat in his chair, pulling a face as some pain flared up in his side and mid back area. He wasn't lucky enough to hide it from the video camera and soon the monitor that held the comments and alerts went from greeting him to asking him if he got hurt during practice. Not wanting to make people worry or talk about how he can't go back to practice for a few days, Hinata would laugh and wave off the comments yet Kenma kept a close eye on him during the rest of the stream. </p>
<p>	The stream room was set up so that Kenma had the main system with two separate monitors, but off to the side was a second system with only one monitor that Hinata would use when he occasionally joined in on Kenma’s streams. The setup was in a sort of L shape so that the singular camera could pick up both Hinata and Kenma. Before Hinata walked in, Kenma had been playing season 2 of Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, but seeing that Hinata wasn't really feeling it, Kenma got together some extra friends over Discord and set up the game Party Animals. Kenma knew that his boyfriend would enjoy around or two simply because all the little animal characters were too cute to not enjoy. </p>
<p>	Kenma had been right that Hinata would enjoy the game and while the fans didn't notice much difference or anything wrong with Hinata, Kenma knew and had been extremely worried as he saw his hyper-energetic boyfriend sitting still for longer than five minutes. The ginger was still excitedly commenting on the game and glancing over at the chat to attempt to read and respond to some messages, but because of Kenma’s popularity, it seemed as though the chat moved a million miles an hour. Hinata excused himself after playing a while on stream saying that he was going to start prepping dinner for both him and Kenma. After Hinata had left the stream, Kenma tried not to stay online much longer, wanting to go check up on his partner. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>	Hinata in his younger days would have easily been able to jump back up and keep playing after any injuries, but now that he was 25, he wasn't doing so well. It hurts so much to take a deep breath and when he lifts up his shirt he saw the start of a large bruise crawling along his side. Hearing the soft footfalls of his boyfriend, he dropped his shirt and smiled as he turned around. Kenma stopped a few feet in front of him and crossed his arms as he observed Hinata’s tensed position. </p>
<p>	“Shou, what happened, why were you home early?” Even though Kenma enjoyed the extra time he got, he knew Hinata well enough to know he still wanted to be playing volleyball at this moment.<br/>
“Me and Bokuto-” at just the mention of the old captain of the owls at Fukurodani Academy, Kenma made a face remembering all the shenanigans he and Kuroo would get into. This face caused Hinata to laugh then wince and hiss at the pain this caused.</p>
<p>	“Well me and Bokuto were trying to see who could hit more spikes and I went kaboom but I happened to miss the ground and ended up landing on my back. Coach decided it would be better for me to come home and rest. Don't worry Kenma, I'm sure I'll be fine in a few days.” With that Hinata reached forward and pulled Kenma’s black hair with bleached tips out of the half bun it was normally placed in. Kenma closed his eyes as he leaned into the touch. As the warm calloused hand finally reached around to the face of the older boy, Kenma held it in place and turned his head so that he could kiss the palm of his hand. </p>
<p>	“Hinata, will you please go to the doctor tomorrow? I don’t want a repeat of your first year at nationals because you’re over pushing yourself.” The ginger leaned down to place a soft kiss on his lips. Lightly touching their foreheads together, Hinata gave a gentle nod. The day he got sick at nationals was what continued to push him to keep his body as healthy as possible. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>	Later that night after they had eaten some simple dinner and relaxed, they were finally heading to bed so they could be prepared for what was most likely going to be a busy day tomorrow. As Hinata was trying to take his shirt off without agitating the throbbing in his back, Kenma got a good view of Hinata's back and the large bruise already forming there. On his left mid to upper back, it was greatly swollen and red and splotchy. Kenma inhaled sharply in surprise as he walked closer as though possessed. Cool gentle fingers ran over the swelling as Hinata let out a small short breath of relief as the coolness helped ease some of the tension he was carrying in his shoulders. </p>
<p>	“Sunshine, this looks really bad. I don't think you're going to bounce back as fast as you used to when you were 15.” Hinata huffed lightly as he turned in Kenmas arms then placed his own around the latter’s waist.  </p>
<p>	“I guess it's a sign that we're getting old huh? Is this how the monster generation is going to go out? " </p>
<p>	“I forget that everyone from our high school days who went pro are all weird volleyball freaks like you. Not a single normal one except for the ones like me who don’t play anymore." The smirk on Kenma’s face made it obvious that this was simply a silly joke on how during every single match the sports announcers would make a comment about the aforementioned ‘monster generation’. </p>
<p>	“Hey! I'm pretty sure you count as well since you were the brains of Nekoma. Plus I see that fond smile you have when a bunch of us get together for a pickup game of Battle of the garbage heap.” The tips of Kenma’s ears turned pink as he was called out, but knew there was no way for him to refute it because it was all true. He ducked his head so his hair could hide his face as a protective barrier like he would do in high school. Smirking because he knew he won, Hinata grabbed Kenma by the hand so they could finish undressing and lay down for bed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>	Kenma had gotten up early the next morning, dressed in his signature look consisting of a large black hoodie, jeans, and a half pulled up messy bun. Hinata had stayed in bed, laying on his stomach as he was starting to really feel the pain on his side and back today. It felt like a hot knife cutting through his lung and ribs whenever he tried to take a deep breath. He laid in bed simply trying to keep his breathing even and measured while he waited for Kenma to return to help him up. He didn't know how long had passed before Kenma was knocking on the bedroom door before entering. </p>
<p>	“Shou? I need you to get up, it's time to leave and go to the doctors." A pained grunt was the only response he received as Hinata forced his body off the bed. Pain had begun to spread throughout most of his body, and he could barely lift his arm to put a shirt on. Kenma had to help Hinata slip on an oversized flannel that was probably left by Kuroo at some point. It was obvious how much pain Hinata was in as he sat in the passenger seat with hazy eyes on the way to the hospital. He couldn't even bring himself to pull out his phone to message the team about his current health status. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>	Due to both Kenma and Hinata’s popularity, it didn't take long before there were posts on Twitter about the hospital check-in. Many were trying to speculate as to why the great ninja Shoyo was in the hospital instead of at practice. Thankfully the couple wasn’t in the public eye for too long, nor high enough in popularity to cause a riot, before they were being taken back to a private room. Kenma did his best to try and distract Hinata from the pain by talking about all the new games he's excited to play. He would try and keep his boyfriend calm and sitting as still as possible, but with the dark bags under Hinata’s eyes, Kenma knew exhaustion would keep him still. The taller grabbed the other hand and tried to rub it in what was hopefully a soothing manner. While they wait for the doctor was only about 10 minutes, the tension in the room made it seem like hours had passed. The doctor was quite a nice person, making sure everyone was calm and comfortable while Hinata explained what happened the day prior. At the mention of Hinata jumping and landing from about 9 feet in the air, the doctor looked up from the notes they were scribbling.</p>
<p>	“Ah, that's quite a tall height. If you don't mind, can you remove your shirt so I can look at your back?" At the request, Hinata gave Kenma’s supporting hand a squeeze as a silent question on if he can help. Kenma gave a small nod and unbuttoned and held the back of the shirt so Hinata didn't have to do too much work. Almost immediately the doctor began to gently prod at the still swollen flesh. The bruising had grown larger and was starting to turn a more maroon color as well. As the doctor felt closer and closer to the rib cage, Hinata let out a sharp hiss of pain as tears immediately began to well up in his brown eyes. Not knowing what else to do, Kenma began to run his hands through the unruly curly red hair. As they poked at his back the doctor began asking where the pain was and how severe it was before trying to come up with a course of action. </p>
<p>	“So, I think we'll definitely need an x-ray to see what's happening. Depending on what we see with that, we may need to get an MRI, but I think that's highly unlikely. Now Mr. Hinata, if you’d please follow me for a moment, we'll get these x-rays started." Hinata gave a timid nod as he stood from his chair and got Kenma’s help to put his shirt back on. As he and the doctor walked to the x-ray room, the doctor began to explain how it's most likely a simple cracked rib. Hinata could feel his stomach-turning for the worse as his anxiety only continued to rise about his whole situation. The actual x-ray didn't take too long and thankfully they only had to put a protective covering on his lower half so he wouldn't have anything pressed against his tender chest. </p>
<p>	A nurse led him back to his room where Kenma was playing a game on his phone while waiting. Hinata walked over to his hunched over partner and gave him a gentle kiss full of love and appreciation. He was trying to keep up a brave face at the moment so it wouldn't seem like he was overreacting. Not wanting to be far away from each other, the two were sitting side-by-side on the patient bed, press shoulder to shoulder and hip to hip. Kenma was showing Hinata pictures from a new anime that he'd heard students talking about and they debated back and forth on if they should invest the time it took to watch it. It wasn't much longer before the doctor returned holding a manila folder. Turning the lights off as they entered, they moved over towards the board where the x-rays could be seen. </p>
<p>	“Well, it looks like I was right about having a cracked rib." They pointed at a rib with a small crack running through it, but then pointed at the rib right under it, one that looked much worse. </p>
<p>	“Unfortunately, there was also a major break that has caused you to puncture your left lung large enough that I would recommend surgery." Both Hinata and Kenma tensed at the sentence and the doctor mentally noted this reaction. </p>
<p>	“Now it may not sound like a great option, but the surgery has a very high success rate. It has a 90% success rate, and you also don't have to decide today. For now, though, I recommend lots of bed rest, no strenuous movements or anything that can cause labored breathing. I'm going to give you a prescription for some pain meds and set up a follow-up meeting for about a week from now. If you decide to have the surgery, we’ll go over the risk and what would happen during it." Hinata was growing pale throughout the instructions and Kenma forced himself to take a centering breath. </p>
<p>	“Thank you, Doctor, you'll most likely be hearing from us tomorrow." With that, the doctor nodded and left the room. Hinata seemed to be in a distressed state of shock as Kenma led him towards the car and drove off to get the pain meds. </p>
<p>	“Hinata? Sunshine? Are you with me?” Hinata weakly hummed an affirmation and sighed out as much as he could without causing himself more pain.</p>
<p>	“I can’t believe it. I’ve worked so hard to be where I am, and I’m once again being held back.” Kenma knew that Hinata would be upset about the no more volleyball, or even exercise rule the doctor had put in place. Taking one hand off the steering wheel to hold his hand in silent support, he let his human Tangerine of a boyfriend rant his feelings out. While they were stopped, Kenma’s fingers flew across his phone screen as he texted Kuroo: <em>‘Shou has punctured lung &amp; needs surgery. Plz get volleyfam together 4 support!’</em> All Kenma got in response was a thumbs-up emoji, but he knew he could trust his best friend to figure out what to do and how to do it. As the two were heading back home, Hinata figured it was finally time to call his coach and break the news that he didn't know when he'd be playing again. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>	Finally back home, the two were surprised to see a multitude of cars outside of their house, but they both quickly spotted Kuroo and Bokuto waiting outside their door. It was obvious Bokuto was in a depressed state and seemed as though he didn't get any sleep the night before. He's probably blaming himself for what happened to Hinata since the competition was his idea. As they got out of their car, Bokuto almost ran up to go and wrap his teammate in a hug, but Kuroo grabbed the back of his collar with a quick shake of his head. At this Bokuto looked like a dejected puppy and anxiously shifted his weight from foot to foot. As the couple drew near, Bokuto’s loud personality broke through as he called out to them.</p>
<p>	“Hey hey hey! I'm glad you guys are finally back! Now maybe we can have some good old fun with everyone!” Hinata was still very confused as to who everyone was but knew better than to question it. Rather the small boy plastered on a smile, ready to face whoever was behind his front door. Out of the corner of his eye, he noted Kenma burying his face in Kuroo’s chest while the latter patted the former's multicolored hair. Unsurprisingly it was Akaashi, Bokuto’s husband, who opened the door to reprimand the other for being too loud. Not much was said as he realized why Bokuto was being loud. With a warm and soft smile, Akaashi reached forward to ruffle Hinata’s hair then stepped back to reveal a pact living room full of plenty of familiar faces. The old Karasuno team was there along with some faces from Nekoma, Fukurodani, and of course the Black Jackals. Hinata almost began to cry at the overwhelming love and support he received in a time when he really needed it, but he put on a smile so bright it could rival the sun as he enjoyed time with his friends. </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>	Hinata had decided that he would go through with the surgery because it would be the quickest way for him to get back to playing volleyball. A week and a half after his first appointment, Hinata was preparing to go into surgery. Kuroo had actually been the one to drive both Kenma and Hinata to the hospital early that morning. He was currently in the waiting lounge trying to get a little bit more sleep before the truly stressful part of the day began. Inside the patient room, Kenma and Hinata were all wrapped around each other whispering sweet nothings to each other. Kenma had his old red Nekoma hoodie on with his hair down. Hinata was lying across from him with a large loose soft gray shirt on and an oxygen tube placed under his nose. The conversation would bounce around from what kind of games Kenma would play even though he was taking a break from streaming to help Hinata move around, then shift to all the silly things that Hinata could possibly say while coming off the anesthetic. A few seconds of comfortable silence passed before Hinata whispered out what he was thinking. </p>
<p>	“I’m scared Kenma.” The dark-haired male gave a soft, comforting smile as he took one of his hands from where he and Hinata had been holding them to Hinata’s chest to place it in the curly ginger hair. Kenma shifted his head to place a gentle, reassuring kiss on his boyfriend's forehead, and then replaced it with his own forehead as he settled back down to look into his lover's eyes.<br/>
“It's okay. I'll be waiting for you on the other side. I'll make sure I'll be the first person you wake up to.” Hinata looked deep into Kenma’s golden eyes and with a slight tremble to his voice asked: “you pinky promise?” At this statement, Kenma out of soft laugh, deciding right then and there that once Hinata was out of surgery, he would propose. </p>
<p>	“Yes. I pinky promise.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>	30 minutes later, Kenma was ushered out of the room so that a peacefully sleeping Hinata could be wheeled off to surgery. He gave him one last kiss on his forehead before leaving to go find and wake Kuroo. Kuroo’s tall, rooster-like hair was hard to miss as Kenma entered the mostly empty waiting room. Plopping down in the seat next to his best friend, he snickered at the surprise noise that left Kuroo’s mouth. The two weren't in any big rush knowing the surgery would probably take around four hours. Leaning forward into the bag by Kuroo’s feet, Kenma pulled out a switch covered in small Black Jackal themed stickers. As he was sitting back in his seat he casually mentioned the plan he was devising. </p>
<p>	“Once Hinata’s done with his surgery and wakes up, I'm going to propose to him.” Kuroo couldn't help the wide smile that overtook his face. </p>
<p>	“God finally! We all knew Shorty was probably too thick to do it himself. I'm glad you're finally doing it though!“</p>
<p> </p>
<p>	It was nearing the three and a half hour mark in Kenma was starting to get antsy. He had seen too many people enter and exit the waiting room they were in. Honestly, he just wanted to see his boyfriend's blinding smile again. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>	Four hours had passed and Kenma was starting to pace. Kuroo tried his best to keep him calm but nothing worked. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>	Five hours now. Why hasn't someone been out to tell him how Hinata was doing? </p>
<p> </p>
<p>	Seven long hours later and a nurse in some ugly gray scrubs stepped into the waiting room and called out “Kozume Kenma?” Jumping out of the seat, Kenma rushed over to the nurse, anxious to hear what she had to tell him about his boyfriend. She led him to a small, bleak-looking room with no Hinata in sight. </p>
<p>	“I'm sorry Mr. Kenma. During the surgery, an incident happened where malpractice was the cause of Shoyo Hinata’s passing. The surgeon somehow hit the aorta while working on the long and Mr. Hinata could not be revived.” Kenma lost all color in his complexion as tears steadily streamed down his face hearing the news. </p>
<p>	“Malpractice…” he covered his mouth as a hysterical laugh bubbled and burned its way out of his chest. </p>
<p>	“You’re fucking kidding me, where is he.” The words had to be wrong. Maybe he misheard her. Hinata couldn't be dead, he just couldn't. He had more volleyball to play, more high-energy stories to tell, and more romantic nights with Kenma planned. Clutching at his hair the nurse gave him a watery smile as she watched him break down. </p>
<p>	“I’m so sorry for your loss.”</p>
<p>	That's when Kenma lost it. Sobs wracked his chest and body as he struggled to get a single damn breath in. He was probably screaming, but he was too numb to tell. He felt arms wrapped around him, and thinking it was the nurse, he tried to fight her off, but feeling a solid wall of muscle, he assumed it was probably Kuroo. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>	Kenma doesn't remember how he got home or when he stopped crying. One minute he's in the hospital, trapped in the nightmare that his sunshine was gone, next he was sitting on his couch staring at Kuroo’s concerned face. Maybe it really was a nightmare and Hinata was in their bedroom resting up after a grueling practice. Kenma got up and began to walk towards the bedroom mumbling "he's got to be in the bedroom. There's no other place he would be." Immense sadness flashed across Kuroo’s face as he grabbed Kenma by the shoulders and guided him back to the couch. </p>
<p>	“Kenma. I need you here with me, I need to know what that nurse said to you.” Hearing these words, Kenma’s face crumbled as he tightly latched onto Kuroo. The tears started to flow once more as Kenma screamed into Kuroo’s chest. Unable to hold back, he let out all his anguish on his friend.</p>
<p>	“IT WAS A 90 OUT OF 10 CHANCE OF SURVIVAL!! KUROO THEY PROMISED HE’LL BE FINE!!!” All Kuroo could do in this situation will hold tightly onto Kenma and be a rock for him. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>	Two pain-filled weeks later was the funeral for his boyfriend. He didn't even get the chance to ask for his hand in marriage. Kenma could barely keep himself together as he whispered to the perpetually sleeping love of his life, “I pinky promised. You were supposed to come back to me so I could see that brilliant smile when I asked you to marry me and accept this ring." With shaking hands, Kenma reached down into the casket and placed a matching ring to the one he had around his neck on Hinata’s chest, right over his heart. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>	It wasn’t an easy thing for Kuroo to go through and had to call in others to help him. Once Kenma realized what Kuroo was doing, he violently tried to lash out, simply afraid to leave the house that he and Hinata had made so many memories in. How the hell could Kuroo expect him to leave?! Hinata could walk through that door at any moment and greet Kenma with a kiss on his forehead and everything would be right with the world again. As he thrashed about, Bokuto, Akaashi, and Kuroo struggled to have a steady hold on him, but with how weak he had grown they were still able to get him to the car. There was already a small bag pack away in the trunk so that all they had to do was buckle Kenma in and drive off. By the time he was strapped in, Kenma had shut down and simply stared blankly ahead of him giving no response to those around him when interacted with. </p>
<p>	Driving through traffic, Kuroo ground his teeth together in an effort to keep his vision clear from the impending tears, Bokuto sat quietly attempting to give support to his friend with a gentle hand on his leg. In the backseat, Akaashi held Kenmas cold and clammy hand as he continued to stare out the window. While it was only a 30-minute drive to what would be Kenmas' new living arrangement, time seemed to stretch on for hours in the tense silence. As the car began to slow and roll to a stop, Kenma seemed to come back to the present situation and tried to bite and fight back against it once again. As the three were struggling with him, a doctor who had been notified of the situation prior to their arrival pulled out a light sedative to keep everyone safe. Some of the nurses helped guide Kuroo who was holding a dozing Kenma to his chest to the boy's new room. Akaashi had decided to wait in the car although he was sitting with a tense expression and a small stream of tears rolling down his cheeks. Bokuto had grabbed the bag from the trunk and followed behind Kuroo gently brushing their shoulders together in support. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>	6 months later, Kenmawas no longer resentful to Kuroo and let him come and visit, usually with a few others of their old friends tagging along to show their support to Kenma and see how he was doing. He still wasn’t doing well, but with the helpful talks and many crying sessions with his therapist, he was starting the grieving process and working to better himself. He would still wear his ring he was going to propose to Hinata with around his neck and typically would be found rubbing and fiddling with the cool metal to help give him some comfort that his Sunshine was still with him. </p>
<p>	To try and help with his mental health, the head doctor of the group home decided it would be best if Kenma left his room more often and so he had to at least sit in the common room so that there was a higher chance of interaction with others. He begrudgingly agreed and even had a specific chair that he would sit in for an hour and a half a day and watch as people continuously passed by. The nurses tried their best to make sure Kenma was comfortable while he was out by keeping a heating blanket placed in his chair and other heavy blankets close by. No matter what time of year, Kenma is always cold and shivering after Hinata’s death. He was never able to find warmth in his bones after that no matter how many blankets were piled on him. This is where he is currently, wrapped up in his mountain of blankets, watching as others passed by him; so would give a friendly wave or nod, but most just blankly passed by. Burrowing deeper into the warm hole, he softly mumbled to himself while rubbing at the ring, “it’s so cold without you here sho.” There was a short pause as he took a shaky inhale as tears began to well in the corner of his eyes, then he continued even softer, “I miss you Sunshine, and I can’t wait to see you again.”</p>
<p>	The boy whipped at his face then shoved the heel of his palm into his eyes to try and stop the impending fall of the tears. Rather than having to keep himself from crying, he was spooked out of it as he heard the voice of Kuroo calling out his name. Removing his hands from his eyes, he looked over to the source of the voice as his vision cleared of black circles to where his friend was standing with a warm smile and excited Bokuto behind his shoulder. Just like before when everything was okay, and maybe, just maybe, he would eventually be okay again.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Feel free to hit me up! My Instagram is @NotAStalker13. I'd love to hear what you have to say about this fic and I'm always looking for more friends to scream about this with! Make sure to click the link to find some of my other content I make! https://linktr.ee/Notastalker13</p></blockquote></div></div>
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